Athy isn’t exactly a commute, it’s a day trip trek.
> The 75km journey, that would usually take the politician around 90 minutes along the M9, M7 and N7, doubled in time due to a breakdown causing congestion on the M50.
Also sounds like someone should have taken the train rather than contribute to the road-based gridlock.
its_brew on
Working from home will eventually be norm, middle management is dragging the country backwards because they know they aren’t needed if there isnt an office.
For businesses who are adament staff are to attend an office, then Working hubs in towns around the country, subsidised by government as an incentive, is the only way forward.
AggressivePie8111 on
I used to work split shifts. Early morning to afternoon and back again in the evening until about 10pm
I recently changed working hours which has resulted in me finishing at 3:30pmI
It is genuinely like the Hunger Games trying to get home. Often buses will fly by because they are full, there’s cancelled buses, which means the next one is going to be full. The traffic and congestion is unbelievable.
This is the quality of life stuff we should be solving. Commuting to work like this really isn’t fair
johnmcdnl on
Google tells me he could have taken a train from Athy -> Sallins, and then switched onto the commuter train into Pearse with a 7 minute walk into Leinster House. 6:41 AM – 8:26 AM (1 hr 45 min)
There’s huges swats of the country that aren’t so lucky to have such an option available, and those people should rightly ask for more – but this TD has basically a door to door option available to him and complaing about ‘traffic’ without recongising he is literally the perfect example of someone who could and should be using the actually available alternatives, and his choice to not use public transport is making himself ‘traffic’ making it worse for all the people who actually have few other good options and are forced into the car.
Key_Duck_6293 on
4-6 hours of unpaid work a day which is terrible for your health and costs you alot of money. If I was them Id be changing job.
Even going from a 1 hour commute to a 10 minute one made my life infinitly better
MushroomBig1861 on
I have a housemate who does this. Out of the house at 5:30am, not back home til gone 9pm. It must be absolutely soul destroying.
AhhhhBiscuits on
I’ve requested WFH twice a week (currently 1 day a week). I get more done at home because I am pulled to do other shit, and counsel others about stupid shit that the management don’t want to deal with “Biscuits will do that”. The get the Spanish Inquistion everyday.
I told them I am working from home two days this week as I am so far behind after covering two people last week with the added bonus or the server going down.
hmmm_ on
Imagine every piece of infrastructure we have is delayed due to “planning”, and yet we still end up with this chaos. Do we really need all these delays?
CrispsInTabascoSauce on
It’s all by design, everything in this country is designed to suck all joy and happiness out of your body to the point you will live start enjoying this endless misery.
Duck_quacker on
A major issue is the generations of people who’ve never worked and have no plans to work being awarded prime social housing in the center of the city. That housing should be rented out to people who will work and will benefit the city.
thecreeperkilr on
If i ever had to work in dublin, i probely would try live in a commuter town that has train stations going to Dublin, in the next half decade, Darts will begin running to those places. but ofc it is not possible for everyone and it is expensive, which is why hybrid working is on the rise
jonnieggg on
And they continue to force more people back into the office
eldwaro on
We have a housing crisis, a public transport crisis and a medical system crisis. Unfortunately the US is also in crisis which means that’s all our leaders will be asked about.
Fataldeviati0n on
I had a 30mins commute in and out of galway on evening shift so i didn’t even see much traffic and that still wore me down doing it for years.
Took a job 5mins from the house that is slightly less money but I save approx .4hrs a week driving. Probably €100 a week on diesel and save a couple of hundred euros a year on tyres, brake pads and oil.
Much, much better quality of life since i made the change
Babyindablender on
Government need to lead by example on this, they are now pulling staff into the office more days which is counter productive, there’s about 300k people in the public sector that would ease traffic a fair bit
Constant_Archer_3819 on
I see a lot of “It’s middle management’s fault” etc….Its not. Middle management are being handed mandates by their C-Suite; in my case, we’re a MNC and the C-Suite is – you guessed it! – All-American. And unfortunately Ireland is blighted with US based MNCs.
superman_yaris on
My North Wicklow to Dublin City is anywhere from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours in the morning in an express bus…
The commute took 1 hour 15 minutes 2 years ago… 20minutes of that is the bus getting off the Southern Cross road. It’s soul destroying.
My wife does the same thing, luckily we both are only in the office 3 days a week. If WFH is taken away I dunno how we could manage with a child.
jamster126 on
Yet our no action government will sit on their arse and do absolutely nothing for another 3 years.
prmreed on
I commute to Dublin from Cavan for work 14 days a month. It wouldn’t be doable for me if I had a 9-5, but I work 12 hour shifts and never more than 3 days in a row. From the moment I leave my house til the moment I get home, it’s easily 18-19 hours spent travelling, working, then travelling back home. Fun.
Robotobot on
I’m out of the house at 7am, back at 7pm. 2 hours and 15 minutes each way. Fucking shite so it is.
AnyAssistance4197 on
Honestly, the unions need to stop fucking around on this.
May 1st is a Friday this year. It was first marked in Dublin in 1890 as part of the global movemenrt for the 8-hour day. Here we are 136 years later and people are having their lives sucked away with crazy commutes and crushing work days. Not to mention the social costs of this BS.
The Mayday march this year needs to put this issue front and centre. It’s a lightening rod through society, connecting workplace issues with the broader concerns around the enviroment, urban planning, recreation and family life.
There should be tens of thousands on the streets in favour of pushing through legislation that enshrinse the right to work from home, not just ask for it.
Academic-County-6100 on
I live in Hollystown Dublin 15 at this moment if I take tunnell 22 mins, non tunnell 32 mins but public transport if bus arrives ij connector on top 1 hour 10 minutes so I drive in 3 days per week on M50 and 3 days home.
I am just 22km away from my office, and if they(speedily) got the dart west + complete and the puas Finglas with bus connects to either or both id be.off taking expensive car transport. Instead, they will do some shite like charge more in tunnel and charge higher fees to use M50.
Also, there used to be companies like fidelity and Ebay who built out on belt. Outside of pharma plants does that even happen anymore?
erect_dragonly on
I know we’re all just serfs to capitalism but this has moved well into the cruel and unusual punishment territory.
hopium_od on
So glad I work from home 5x a week.
daithibreathnach on
And do you know what the gas thing is, if there was another pandemic in the morning, ye’d all be expected to fuck off back home and keep the businesses running.
FedNlanders123 on
I know a lad doing a six hour round trip everyday
YF422 on
Fuck every company thats compounding this issue with RTO. The infrastructure cant handle these volumes and if they cant be forced to roll back to WFH then congestion tax these companies more for wasting everyones time.
wolf101123 on
There is a massive health time bomb both physical and mental from this congestion on the way.
Different-Class1771 on
After COVID our company changed offices from Southside to Northside. Used to take me 10-15 minutes to get to work, which changed to 1.5 – 2 hours.
That lasted all of 3 months before I and several others handed in their notices. They tried to retain us offering travel expenses and a 5% pay increase and some of the young ones did take them up, but I honestly didn’t have it in me.
Particular_Olive_904 on
I have to do a 200km commute once a week. I could be looking for jobs closer but they wouldn’t be as fulfilling, I’ll be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning and it will be 8 or later by the time I’m home. Does it suck? yes, but I’m applying a positive mental attitude to it, instead of being stuck in traffic I have an audio book and podcasts to catch up on.
I will transfer down eventually because its not sustainable but I’m lucky that I’m not being pushed back compared to other departments insisting on 3 days a week
Double_Management_97 on
Don’t worry guys. Government is doing everything. They have reduced the bus service and delayed the public transport. They have converted half the roads into cycle lanes so that you can cycle from county Kildare to Dublin. And above all they have made sure big builders get massive tax relief so they can decrease the house size and increase the price.
Furyio on
Return to office mandates is a huge problem here. And government arnt standing up to business on this.
Doesn’t help the Greens are gone so FG especially arnt going to get involved here.
Crazy how many people are back in office for no reason other than to justify the fancy offices and leases that were paid for.
I work from home full time and would never go back into office and if I did would need a huge pay bump. Maybe I’m lucky but it’s how it goes.
We had a global pandemic, and we saw what was possible. Crazy companies want to go back to the way it was and everyone is accepting it.
We have seen a better way of working and living and it needs to be pushed for
33 Comments
Fuck that
Athy isn’t exactly a commute, it’s a day trip trek.
> The 75km journey, that would usually take the politician around 90 minutes along the M9, M7 and N7, doubled in time due to a breakdown causing congestion on the M50.
Also sounds like someone should have taken the train rather than contribute to the road-based gridlock.
Working from home will eventually be norm, middle management is dragging the country backwards because they know they aren’t needed if there isnt an office.
For businesses who are adament staff are to attend an office, then Working hubs in towns around the country, subsidised by government as an incentive, is the only way forward.
I used to work split shifts. Early morning to afternoon and back again in the evening until about 10pm
I recently changed working hours which has resulted in me finishing at 3:30pmI
It is genuinely like the Hunger Games trying to get home. Often buses will fly by because they are full, there’s cancelled buses, which means the next one is going to be full. The traffic and congestion is unbelievable.
This is the quality of life stuff we should be solving. Commuting to work like this really isn’t fair
Google tells me he could have taken a train from Athy -> Sallins, and then switched onto the commuter train into Pearse with a 7 minute walk into Leinster House. 6:41 AM – 8:26 AM (1 hr 45 min)
There’s huges swats of the country that aren’t so lucky to have such an option available, and those people should rightly ask for more – but this TD has basically a door to door option available to him and complaing about ‘traffic’ without recongising he is literally the perfect example of someone who could and should be using the actually available alternatives, and his choice to not use public transport is making himself ‘traffic’ making it worse for all the people who actually have few other good options and are forced into the car.
4-6 hours of unpaid work a day which is terrible for your health and costs you alot of money. If I was them Id be changing job.
Even going from a 1 hour commute to a 10 minute one made my life infinitly better
I have a housemate who does this. Out of the house at 5:30am, not back home til gone 9pm. It must be absolutely soul destroying.
I’ve requested WFH twice a week (currently 1 day a week). I get more done at home because I am pulled to do other shit, and counsel others about stupid shit that the management don’t want to deal with “Biscuits will do that”. The get the Spanish Inquistion everyday.
I told them I am working from home two days this week as I am so far behind after covering two people last week with the added bonus or the server going down.
Imagine every piece of infrastructure we have is delayed due to “planning”, and yet we still end up with this chaos. Do we really need all these delays?
It’s all by design, everything in this country is designed to suck all joy and happiness out of your body to the point you will live start enjoying this endless misery.
A major issue is the generations of people who’ve never worked and have no plans to work being awarded prime social housing in the center of the city. That housing should be rented out to people who will work and will benefit the city.
If i ever had to work in dublin, i probely would try live in a commuter town that has train stations going to Dublin, in the next half decade, Darts will begin running to those places. but ofc it is not possible for everyone and it is expensive, which is why hybrid working is on the rise
And they continue to force more people back into the office
We have a housing crisis, a public transport crisis and a medical system crisis. Unfortunately the US is also in crisis which means that’s all our leaders will be asked about.
I had a 30mins commute in and out of galway on evening shift so i didn’t even see much traffic and that still wore me down doing it for years.
Took a job 5mins from the house that is slightly less money but I save approx .4hrs a week driving. Probably €100 a week on diesel and save a couple of hundred euros a year on tyres, brake pads and oil.
Much, much better quality of life since i made the change
Government need to lead by example on this, they are now pulling staff into the office more days which is counter productive, there’s about 300k people in the public sector that would ease traffic a fair bit
I see a lot of “It’s middle management’s fault” etc….Its not. Middle management are being handed mandates by their C-Suite; in my case, we’re a MNC and the C-Suite is – you guessed it! – All-American. And unfortunately Ireland is blighted with US based MNCs.
My North Wicklow to Dublin City is anywhere from 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours in the morning in an express bus…
The commute took 1 hour 15 minutes 2 years ago… 20minutes of that is the bus getting off the Southern Cross road. It’s soul destroying.
My wife does the same thing, luckily we both are only in the office 3 days a week. If WFH is taken away I dunno how we could manage with a child.
Yet our no action government will sit on their arse and do absolutely nothing for another 3 years.
I commute to Dublin from Cavan for work 14 days a month. It wouldn’t be doable for me if I had a 9-5, but I work 12 hour shifts and never more than 3 days in a row. From the moment I leave my house til the moment I get home, it’s easily 18-19 hours spent travelling, working, then travelling back home. Fun.
I’m out of the house at 7am, back at 7pm. 2 hours and 15 minutes each way. Fucking shite so it is.
Honestly, the unions need to stop fucking around on this.
May 1st is a Friday this year. It was first marked in Dublin in 1890 as part of the global movemenrt for the 8-hour day. Here we are 136 years later and people are having their lives sucked away with crazy commutes and crushing work days. Not to mention the social costs of this BS.
The Mayday march this year needs to put this issue front and centre. It’s a lightening rod through society, connecting workplace issues with the broader concerns around the enviroment, urban planning, recreation and family life.
There should be tens of thousands on the streets in favour of pushing through legislation that enshrinse the right to work from home, not just ask for it.
I live in Hollystown Dublin 15 at this moment if I take tunnell 22 mins, non tunnell 32 mins but public transport if bus arrives ij connector on top 1 hour 10 minutes so I drive in 3 days per week on M50 and 3 days home.
I am just 22km away from my office, and if they(speedily) got the dart west + complete and the puas Finglas with bus connects to either or both id be.off taking expensive car transport. Instead, they will do some shite like charge more in tunnel and charge higher fees to use M50.
Also, there used to be companies like fidelity and Ebay who built out on belt. Outside of pharma plants does that even happen anymore?
I know we’re all just serfs to capitalism but this has moved well into the cruel and unusual punishment territory.
So glad I work from home 5x a week.
And do you know what the gas thing is, if there was another pandemic in the morning, ye’d all be expected to fuck off back home and keep the businesses running.
I know a lad doing a six hour round trip everyday
Fuck every company thats compounding this issue with RTO. The infrastructure cant handle these volumes and if they cant be forced to roll back to WFH then congestion tax these companies more for wasting everyones time.
There is a massive health time bomb both physical and mental from this congestion on the way.
After COVID our company changed offices from Southside to Northside. Used to take me 10-15 minutes to get to work, which changed to 1.5 – 2 hours.
That lasted all of 3 months before I and several others handed in their notices. They tried to retain us offering travel expenses and a 5% pay increase and some of the young ones did take them up, but I honestly didn’t have it in me.
I have to do a 200km commute once a week. I could be looking for jobs closer but they wouldn’t be as fulfilling, I’ll be up at 5:30 tomorrow morning and it will be 8 or later by the time I’m home. Does it suck? yes, but I’m applying a positive mental attitude to it, instead of being stuck in traffic I have an audio book and podcasts to catch up on.
I will transfer down eventually because its not sustainable but I’m lucky that I’m not being pushed back compared to other departments insisting on 3 days a week
Don’t worry guys. Government is doing everything. They have reduced the bus service and delayed the public transport. They have converted half the roads into cycle lanes so that you can cycle from county Kildare to Dublin. And above all they have made sure big builders get massive tax relief so they can decrease the house size and increase the price.
Return to office mandates is a huge problem here. And government arnt standing up to business on this.
Doesn’t help the Greens are gone so FG especially arnt going to get involved here.
Crazy how many people are back in office for no reason other than to justify the fancy offices and leases that were paid for.
I work from home full time and would never go back into office and if I did would need a huge pay bump. Maybe I’m lucky but it’s how it goes.
We had a global pandemic, and we saw what was possible. Crazy companies want to go back to the way it was and everyone is accepting it.
We have seen a better way of working and living and it needs to be pushed for